No matter the industry, children often want to follow in the footsteps of one or both of their parents. This trend is something that is prevalent in entertainment as the sons and daughters of famous figures grow up to have artistic—and celebrity—dreams of their own. In hip hop, plenty of youngsters watch as their rap star mommies and daddies take to the mic as millions of adoring fans hang on their every rhyming word, but just because their parent has a successful career doesn't mean that hip hop kids have a sure-fire road to stardom.
In a clip of Growing Up Hip Hop New York, Fat Joe tries to instill this into his son, Ryan, who has aspirations of being the next huge hip hop artist. "A lotta people man, they don't understand that it's actually harder for a successful [rapper's] son or his daughter to become successful in the hip hop game," Joe said to Ryan. "It's almost impossible. All of them tried it."
Ryan refutes his father's claim, noting that Jaden Smith just performed an incredible set at Coachella and has a successful career outside of Will Smith. "You know that boy put out like, ten mixtapes before he popped off," Joe responded. "I can tell you about fifty rapper's sons that never made it." Joe later added, "Every rapper's son who tried to make it really fell short. This hip hop game is a constant hustle. There's no way around it. No money is guaranteed. You have to continue to hustle."
In a green-screen interview, Ryan called his father "delusional" and said that every rapper's kid is successful. "It comes down to whether or not they're determined and I'm probably the most determined person in the world," Ryan stated. Joe continued to try and make sure that Ryan has some sort of backup plan, but it doesn't seem that Ryan is trying to hear it. "Have you ever thought [about] if it doesn't work?" Joe asked before Ryan answered, "I'm not worried about it."
